No matter what the challenge is or if I do it or not (most of the time I don’t!), I still love reading everyone’s answers and seeing their pictures. The most recent one I’ve been seeing many people do is a transformation post. You post a picture of you in high school and one of you now. Though the many people who have done it have not changed physically, they have changed so much as a person, even those who haven’t been out of high school for very long.

Like many others, I cannot say that I’ve changed so much physically. I weigh a little more than I did when I was sixteen and I might even be a little taller, but for the most part, my hair and my face pretty much looks exactly as it once did. But looking at the picture of me then the picture of me now, I am reminded so much of how I have changed. That even in the short five years since the picture on the left has been taken (and posted to Facebook), I have become someone different. Not someone completely different, but different.

And as I stare at the photo, it makes me wonder what I would say to my sixteen year old self. If I could go back in time or send a message back to when I was sixteen, what would twenty one year old Krystal tell her? What advice would I give her?

And that is exactly what I’ve decided to do.

Dear Younger Self,

I want to first begin by telling you that you are a brilliantly smart, caring, and beautiful person. Though you might hear it all the time, I know that sometimes you struggle to believe it. I know you, and I know you will try to seek that fulfillment in other people and other things, which will leave you heart-broken and scarred. But just know that you’re your worth is not found in things or the people of this world, but instead it is found in one person– Jesus.

Life is tough. And though you will not have to deal with a lot of the bad and horrible things many people you know will deal with, the brokeness of this world will still affect you. You will stumble, and sometimes you will fall. But those speed bumps that have tested you have molded you into the person I am today.

Learn to forgive yourself. There will be many times throughout the next five years where you will mess up. And you will cry out and beg God for forgiveness, and in His abundant mercy, He will forgive you. But you will try to carry the baggage of your sins. Don’t. All it does is weigh you down and draw you farther away from God. You don’t have to live with the shame and the guilt. There is freedom in the work of Jesus. Forgive yourself because He has forgiven you.

It’s Okay to Be Nice. You have heard it a hundred times. Why are you so nice? Why are you being nice to them if they’re mean to you? You shouldn’t let people walk on you. And you will continue to hear it a hundred more times. Be nice anyway. Jesus would want you to be nice. Your character should not change based on their character. One day, you will look back on all the people you were kind to, even those who truly did not deserve it, and you will not regret a single thing.

And lastly Krystal, trust in God. Like I’ve said before, life is tough. There will times in your life where you will go through valleys and question if God is even there. There will be times when you don’t understand what is going on and where everything fits into His good plan. As the impatient person you are, there will even be times where you will get angry at God. Even in the midst of it all, trust in Him. He has an amazing plan for your life, full of joy and happiness. Put all your trust in Him, all of it, and in the end, he will make your life something great for His glory.

With all the love,

Your Older Self

If you could go back and talk to your younger self, what would you say? What advice would you give yourself? Let me know in the comments below!! I’d love to read all about it! Thank you so much for reading!!

–Krystal 🙂

Yet I call this in mind, and therefore I have hope. Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for his mercies never end. They are new every morning: great is your faithfulness! I say: The Lord is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in Him.